Despite the trials and tribulations the Astralis lineup faced in 2020, several key players’ performances earned them a spot on the iconic and annual top 20 players of 2020 list by HLTV.
In a unique year that saw most of the tournaments happen as online events, the rankings were determined by ranking tournaments into three tiers dependent on the amount of top teams present. Therefore, certain tournaments were more valuable than others when it came to the ranking of the top players.
The wall himself, Magisk, finds himself at the top of the Counter-Strike scene for the third year in a row, as he takes #11 on the highly regarded list. As both Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander and Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth stepped down from the team for a few months to recover from burnout and stress, Magisk welcomed the challenge and took over as in-game leader. The newfound role required adaptation, which led to the team having both ups and downs throughout the year. Nonetheless, Magisk managed to score a rating of 1.11, which became the 13th-highest rating at Elite events with a 116-map sample size. Additionally, he was awarded six Exceptionally Valuable Player (EVP) awards and ended the year with a 1.10 rating, once more proving that his name belongs in the top 20.
Breaking the top ten is Peter “dupreeh” Rasmussen as he claims #9. Despite a tough showing at BLAST Premier Spring Series 2020 that saw Astralis place last, dupreeh proved instrumental for the successes of the team throughout 2020. Impressively, Astralis won 70.7% of the rounds in which he got at least one kill, which is the highest percentage of all players, and 83.1% of rounds in which dupreeh amassed a multi-kill, second-highest percentage.
The consistency and high level of skill led to him winning six EVP awards including one in each of the four tournaments the team won. When looking solely at the Elite events, dupreeh's average rating is 1.12 across 116 maps played, ranking him the ninth-highest-rated player of 2020, and further cementing his status as a rightful top 10 player of 2020.
Three-time MVP, six-time EVP and a rating of 1.20 (third-best overall) confirm and validate Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz as the third-highest ranked player of 2020. His consistency, high individual skill as well as his ability to top frag earn him a top-five finish on HLTV’s list for the sixth consecutive year. The consistency has shown itself throughout all of 2020, as dev1ce managed the highest 2.0 score on Astralis in 9 of 11 tournaments, ranging from 1.10 as his lowest, to peaking at 1.34 across 15 maps played at DreamHack Masters Winter 2020 Europe. The sheer ability of “Mr. Consistent” to perform admirably under pressure has shown itself time and time again, with the latest being the two-for-one AWP collateral, resulting in an ace on the deciding map of the IEM Global Challenge 2020 final.
2020 marks the fifth consecutive year that multiple Astralis players have placed on the annual HLTV Top 20 list.
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